League Play-Off

Stadion Shahty
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Nikita Lobanov started the match with the kick off. Oktyabrsky FC's Aleksandr Rozhdestvin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Aleksandr Bezobrazov in the 3rd minute of play. Aleksandr Bezobrazov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 8th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. David Vorontsov's late challenge caught a Shahty's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. David Vorontsov helped the player get up and apologised. Aleksandr Bezobrazov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 10th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. If Aleksandr Bezobrazov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 12th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 0-1 became the score in the 14th minute when Konstantin Bolotov elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. Konstantin Bolotov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 19th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ernest Izosimov having to interfere. Konstantin Bolotov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 22nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Oktyabrsky FC's Aleksandr Rozhdestvin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Aleksandr Bezobrazov in the 28th minute of play. The nice shot from Gennadiy Basargin in the 30thth minute just in front of the goal should have ended in point on the board, but Aleksandr Rozhdestvin had a great feel for the game and superbly saved the ball from getting in by the left post. Gennadiy Basargin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 36th minute. Aleksandr Rozhdestvin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 38th minute, Oktyabrsky FC's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Gennadiy Basargin fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. After a defensive mix-up in Oktyabrsky FC's zone, Aleksandr Bezobrazov stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Aleksandr Rozhdestvin came out of the goal and Aleksandr Bezobrazov tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Aleksandr Bezobrazov fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 43rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Aleksandr Rozhdestvin having to interfere. Gennadiy Basargin struck a weak shot in the 48th minute. Aleksandr Rozhdestvin didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Shahty. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

After a rather tough play, Oktyabrsky FC's Konstantin Bolotov got a free kick in the 56th minute. In the 59th match minute, Oktyabrsky FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Vitaliy Biryukov to maneuver through the defense. Aleksandr Rozhdestvin took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Aleksandr Bezobrazov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When Aleksandr Bezobrazov came up free with the goalie in the 67th minute, the Shahty fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Aleksandr Bezobrazov couldn't finish the play. Konstantin Bolotov blasted a shot towards the goal in the 73rd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Ernest Izosimov having to make a save. The crowd rose to their feet as Nikita Lobanov kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Ernest Izosimov. That made the score 0-2 in the 75 minute of play. 83 minutes into the match, Shahty's Aleksandr Bezobrazov sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Aleksandr Rozhdestvin narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Aleksandr Bezobrazov struck a weak shot in the 87th minute. Aleksandr Rozhdestvin didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Shahty. After 87 played minutes Oktyabrsky FC got a freekick which was hit by Vitaliy Biryukov. If Nikita Lobanov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 91st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Ernest Kireichikov's late challenge caught a Oktyabrsky FC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Ernest Kireichikov helped the player get up and apologised. In the 93rd minute, Ernest Kireichikov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After recieving a nice pass, Oktyabrsky FC's Igor Budnikov tried to score from far away in the 94th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Oktyabrsky FC eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.